Sherlock Holmes Faces Parenthood
by Lexa-Jean-Skywalker
Summary: Sherlock Holmes has his life changed forever when he finds out that he has a two month old daughter that he has to raise after her mother is murdered on his doorstep. Can he find his past lover's killer and raise his little girl at the same time? Or will the pressure be too much for him? Based on the 1939 film series of Sherlock Holmes. Rated T for safety
1. Chapter 1: How It All Started

**Feel free to skip my entire authors note if you want just don't be surprised if you don't completely understand the context of the story!**

 **Anyway, hey guys! This is my first Sherlock Holmes Fanfction and I just wanted to tell you all a little about it. Ok so before anyone asks, no this isn't based on Sherlock, or Elementary, or any of those other weird tv shows. No, this is based on the genius Sherlock Holmes 1939 film series! Now for those of you haven't seen it or heard of it go look it up because it is amazing! But for you people who would rather get on with this story I will give you a brief summery of why this little fact is important to me.**

 **In the 1939 film series Sherlock Holmes is played by Basil Rathbone! Yas! I absolutely LOVE him in this role because he portrays Holmes as being the perfect English gentlemen. Not a rude, antisocial man with ADHD and OCD like some of the more recent tv series' do. Aside from that, the 1939 film series has all of it's movies set in the Victorian Era, with each taking place in the mid 1800's so in my fic you will not see Sherlock Holmes having a conversation on his smartphone texting Professor Moriarty.**

 **With all of that said I must warn you that I'm not normally very good when writing mystery stories, but I'm willing to work as hard as I can in the hopes that this story will turn out well. If not then I am very sorry. I am trying though! I promise!**

 **But I'm sure you just want to get onto the good bit, right? Well then I will be quiet and let you get to it! If you like this first chapter then let me know either with a review or maybe even a PM if ya got an idea for something that could happen later on! Now on with the show!**

 **Edit: Thank you to ssj3gohan007 for telling me about the errors which I have now corrected :) Your review is appreciated!**

-/-/-

221B Baker Street, known for being the home of the genius detective Sherlock Holmes, was surrounded by officers from Scotland Yard. The street was bustling with people who were trying to get close enough to see what had happened after all of the commotion earlier. For that morning a shot had rung out through the otherwise deadly silent air, the scream that had followed sending shudders through many a person's spine, while Mrs Hudson had gone to telephone the police.

The woman who lied on the doorstep was lifeless. Her copper coloured hair was scattered in multiple places, stained with dried blood; crimson. Her blue eyes were wide open, but her sapphire irises held a sudden sadness. The stain on her back was a deep red, emphasising the two wounds where the bullets had punctured her skin. The bitter cold was slowing the bleeding a little, but she still bled out onto the ground all the same.

There had been no warning, no idea that anyone had been waiting in the shadows nearby, no suspicion that the lady had been in any danger. After all why would there have been? She had just knocked on a door. Unfortunately it had been that door that had sealed her doom. Her murderer had not wanted her to go and see Mr Holmes and they had killed her to stop her.

Sherlock had witnessed the murder, he had opened the door just in time to see her shot. He had watched as she'd lurched forward before he wrapped her in his arms, trying to hold her up as her legs gave out.

"Sher...lock..." She whispered, her lips trembling as she spoke.

"Abigail." The detective stared down at her, his heart shattering in his chest. "Abigail no... No don't die, please!" His rational mind knew that she was leaving him, that there was no way to stop her from shedding her mortal coil, but his humanity didn't want her to go.

"Sherlock... Take... Ella... L-Love you..." She rasped before her head slumped back as she withered in his grasp, her own arms slackening as she let go of the bundle she had been carrying, along with her life.

"Abigail!" Holmes had been forced to try and grab what she dropped, letting go of the deceased woman with one arm to grab the object that had been swaddled in the blankets. It was only when bundle began to wriggle and let out a cry that he realised what it was and what the lady had just asked him to do. Abigail had wanted him to take care of her child.

Confused and grief stricken, Sherlock laid the deceased down on the step. Although he hated to leave her outside he knew that she needed to remain where the crime had taken place until Scotland Yard arrived. Despite the tears that rolled down his cheeks, the man took the opportunity to examine the baby.

She was so small that he couldn't help the feeling an overwhelming need to protect her and keep her safe from danger. She stared up at him with blue eyes just like her mother's, and had a cute little button nose. Her skin was almost the same shade as his own, just a little lighter, and the top of her head was covered in silky black hair. She was the most adorable baby he had ever seen. However the tragic events of her mother's death left the little girl upset as she cried and wailed in his arms.

The man was at a loss, what did he do now? He couldn't leave Abigail's body and take the baby inside because there was a chance that the murderer could try and take the body, but he didn't want to expose the little girl to the horrible scene. Sighing he gently cuddled her to his chest and tried to soothe her. "Hush... I know... I know... I'm sorry..." He whispered to her. "Shh little one..."

He stayed like that, gently rocking the baby back and forth, unable to keep himself from crying even as he tried to calm her down. Abigail had been an old friend of his... She was a wonderful, intelligent woman whom he'd known for quite a number of years. They'd been friends almost since childhood. However he hadn't see her in almost a year after she had moved away to help one of her relatives who had been sick, her mother he believed it was. Now the rest of her family would need to be notified of her death.

When Mrs Hudson came out she winced at the sight of the body before offering to take the child inside. She didn't really understand why there was a child there, but Holmes seemed to shellshocked to explain right at that moment, so she carefully took the baby from his grasp and brought her inside, away from the cold.

When Lestrade arrived Holmes allowed him and the inspectors from Scotland Yard to take over the scene for a time while he retired to his room to think and begin to try and work out what had just happened... And who he would have to give Ella to.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sherlock Holmes and I am making no money from this, duh, it is purely for enjoyment purposes only. Now that we've got that settled, on with this chapter!**

-/-/-

Sherlock stayed in his room for almost an hour, replaying the incident outside over and over, trying to analyse every little detail about it. The amount of seconds between the sound of the gun firing and the time that the bullets hit Abigail, the angle of entry. Any little detail that could help him deduce something about the murderer. However the wailing that was coming from the tiny child was making it difficult for his thoughts to process. "Mrs Hudson, I understand that there probably isn't much you can do, but I must ask, can you get it quiet down?"

"I'm sorry Mr Holmes, but she doesn't seem to want to calm down, nothing I do is working." She replied, still rocking the kid as she gently rubbed her back. "Oh mercy, she does have a good set of lungs on her. I haven't heard a baby screaming like this for a long time. She is beautiful though, a very adorable little lass." The elderly land lady couldn't help giving a small smile tried to calm the distressed child.

"I'm glad you think so Mrs Hudson, but... That doesn't really help us." The man was pacing anxiously back and forth so much so that he might wear the carpet thin.

"What's the matter Holmes? What's all this noise?" A gentleman walked through the door, a look of bewilderment and confusion was etched into his face. The look was heightened even further when he spotted Mrs Hudson sitting in a chair with a bundle in her arms, gently rocking back and forth while his friend paced. "Holmes what's all this about? Why is there a baby in here? What happened to that woman outside?" At that question Sherlock Holmes stopped pacing and led Watson over to the bundle.

"Well Watson, the woman was murdered-"

"That's fairly obvious to deduce my good man, but-" The doctor interjected, having already realised that the lady on the front step had been murdered given the two bullet holes in her back and the number of police around. However his friend cut him off again before he could finish speaking.

"Really Watson do let me finish." Sherlock shook his head.

"Sorry Holmes."

"It's alright, but please don't interrupt. Anywho, this is her daughter." He explained and gestured to the child. "See for yourself, she looks just like her."

"That she does... She's pretty but... Too loud." The old doctor peered down at her and frowned. "Horrible little squirt." He shook his head in distaste, wincing as she seemed to cry louder.

"Watson, I don't think she likes what you said." Sherlock chuckled before there was a knock at the door and it opened to reveal Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard.

"Mr Holmes, there's something I think you should see... Blimey that is one loud baby!" The man shook his head and for a moment, held his hands over his ears to try and block out the noise temporarily.

"Indeed she is, but watch what you say, she doesn't seem to like people's honesty." Holmes smirked, managing to find a little humour in the situation. "So what is it, Lestrade? You said you had something I should see?" He was interested to see what the other man had found.

"A letter addressed to you. We found it in the coat pocket of the deceased woman outside." He replied as he took the envelope out of his pocket and walked over to hand it to the detective. "Given that it was found on the victim I do have the right to read it, but I thought that perhaps you should look at it first."

"Thank you Lestrade." He nodded, taking the letter and opening it. "Let's see what all of this is about." His coal eyes quickly scanned the paper and he muttered to himself as he read it until he came to the bottom of the page and stared at it in surprise.

 _My Dear Sherlock,_

 _I am sorry to come to you like this, but I have to see you. I know it seems strange that I have written this, but it is a precaution in case something happens to me. You see I've had this awful feeling lately and if you were to ask me why, which I'm certain you would, I couldn't tell you. Perhaps it is because I'm a mother now, and I'm just being paranoid, but I feel as though I am being watched. As thought there's some terrible shadow of death hanging over my head. That is why I have to see you, though if you are reading this then it is likely that I am already dead. If that is so then please tell our daughter I am sorry and I love her... I will always love her._

 _Now I know that will have you wondering why I say ours and although I'm sure that big brain of yours will tell you what it means I'll explain. Ella is your daughter. Her full name is Ella Violet Holmes. I decided to call Ella after one of your favourite words, elementary. I know it's not spelt the same way, but it sounds similar and I thought it was a cute name. She's the most darling little baby and she's mostly very well behaved, I do warn you, however; that she gets upset if she hasn't been fed for a few hours. She also has a little teddy bear toy that I keep in my pocket for her in case she wants it. In the event of my death I want you to take it and keep it for her._

 _I wish I could write more , however I hope to apologise to you in person and explain the rest of this. Should that not be possible then I must ask you to remember two things for me. One, that I love you and have always loved you, and two, you must love Ella. Please. She deserves all the love you can give her._

 _Thank you for everything Sherlock, it means more to me than you could ever possibly know._

 _Love,_

 _Abigail Orfe._

By the time he had finished reading the letter he had tears in eyes, his hands trembling as he tried to hold in his grief. If she'd sent the letter to him by mail then he would have known. He could have saved her! Now he had to take care of his daughter and he had no idea how to look after a child.

"Well I certainly wasn't expecting that." Holmes muttered, shaking his head as mind was left reeling with multitudes of emotions and thoughts.

"What does it say Holmes?" Watson asked, moving to stand closer to his friend as he handed it to Lestrade.

"Watson, it would seem that I am a father."

"What?! I-I say Holmes you must be pulling my leg!" John's eyes popped as stared at him, gaping like a fish while he seemed to flounder for words.

"Well strike me up a gum tree! It's true!" Having worked with Sherlock on numerous occasions Inspector Lestrade had seen many strange things, but never in his wildest dreams had he expected to read a letter from a murdered woman to Holmes stating that he was the father of her child whom she'd been coming over to give to him. However there was doubt in his mind that this woman was actually telling the truth. "But 'ow do we know that she ain't lying to you in this 'ere letter?"

"Abigail was a tremendous woman, if she says I'm the baby's father then I will not doubt her. It would be an insult to her memory." Holmes shook his head, leaving the other two males stumped. The detective was actually going to take the kid under his wing and raise her as his own daughter. However there was one problem.

"I'm afraid we can't let you take custody of the girl without proof that you're her father and even then you might 'ave to take it up with the courts if she she has any other family that want to take her in." The Inspector sighed softly just as another man from Scotland Yard appeared in the door. "What is it Sergeant?"

"Sir, we have discovered more possessions on the body of the deceased." He replied walking over with a teddy bear in one hand and a bottle in the other. "We thought that, perhaps, the child would like to have these." He held them out to the inspector, only to have them taken by Holmes who brought them over to Mrs Hudson.

When little Ella caught sight of the toy her crying came to a stop, allowing everyone else in the room to breathe a sigh of relief as they were no longer subjected to the endless wails.

"Well thank goodness for that." Lestrade muttered, voicing the words that the rest of the adults who were present were no doubt thinking.

"Indeed, I think she will be much happier now." Sherlock couldn't help smiling as he looked down at the baby as she cuddled her teddy.

"Mr Holmes, do ya think it would be alright if I went and heated some milk for her?" The elderly landlady asked, still cradling the child.

"Of course, Mrs Hudson. Go right ahead, she will probably appreciate having something to eat after all of this." He nodded.

"Very well then." She smiled and attempted to stand up, only to discover that trying to get out of the chair with a baby in her arms was rather difficult. Especially when Ella decided that she didn't want the lady to move and began to squirm. "Oh my, I'd forgotten how tricky this can be." The woman chuckled.

Holmes hesitated for a moment before extending his arms out towards her. "Permit me, my dear lady."

"Are you sure, Mr Holmes?" She asked, surprised.

"Quite. If she is my daughter then I'm going to need to get used to looking after her."

"Alright Mr Holmes." She nodded and carefully handed the little girl over to him. "Ooh, watch her head, sir."

"I will, Mrs Hudson, don't worry... I admit this is definitely a first for me." He smiled as he carefully held Ella and tried to cradle her, without dropping her or hurting her. He carried her as if she were made of glass, like she was the most fragile thing on earth, and in his mind she was. "There... I think I can manage now." He murmured softly.

"Alright then, I'll go and get her some milk." The Scottish woman smiled and headed out, while the other three men in the room stared at Holmes in surprise.

"My word, I never thought I'd see the day... Mr Sherlock Holmes, a father. I didn't think you'd ever settle down with a woman." Lestrade said as he stared at him, scratching his head. From behind him the Sergeant cleared his throat softly, gaining his superior officer's attention. "Yes Sergeant?"

"I think I'd better go back and see what the rest of the men are doing." He explained, backing away slowly in the direction of the door.

"Yes I think that is a good idea, you are dismissed Sergeant." Lestrade nodded and the man quickly headed out. "Well this has certainly been a strange day."

"Strange, Lestrade?" Holmes asked as he slowly walked over, still carrying the child.

"Yes, strange. What else do you call a day when you find a woman murdered on your door with a child that is supposedly yours?"

"Sad I would say. Tragic."

"Well yes, you're right, but I mean... Well the strange part about it is how you... You're... You know."

"No, I'm afraid I don't." The detective smirked and raised a brow, daring him to finish his line of thought. "Go on, what am I doing that's so strange?"

"You're taking care of a baby, that's what."

"Oh. I suppose you're right, the idea of that is rather odd to say the least, however, I won't allow this child to become an orphan left to try and survive on the streets of London with no home or family."

"But Holmes, how will you be able to take care of her when we're off on cases? You won't be able to bring her with us, you know." Watson pointed out.

"I am perfectly aware of that fact, Watson, and I fully intend to have her taken care of whenever we are away. I'm sure that Mrs Hudson can help us and if need be I can hire a maid to look after young Ella." He replied, as if the solution to the problem was obvious.

"Well alright Holmes, if you're so determined to keep the little..." Watson began to mutter to himself as he went and sat down in one of the arm chairs, not wishing to discuss the matter any further than he already had. If he had learned only one thing from all of his cases with the detective it was that, once his mind was made up about something, Sherlock Holmes could never be swayed.

Sherlock merely chuckled and rolled his eyes at his friend's clear opposition to his idea. He knew that this was crazy, and probably silly, but he had never had a family. John and Mrs Hudson were the closest he'd had to one and now there was a chance that he had a relative of his own flesh and blood. If this proved to be true then he wanted to look after her. He wanted to take care of his baby.

In fact, even if it turned out she wasn't his then he would try to adopt her. He owed it to Abigail to raise her child since she had been murdered when coming to see him. It was his fault she was gone and now he had to do whatever he could to try and make it up to the child.

"Lestrade, have the necessary arrangements made so that I may have the tests. I want to find out if Ella really is my daughter."

"It may take a little time, but consider it done, Mr Holmes." He nodded and left to do as he asked.


	3. Chapter 3: The Tests

It took a week, but the requests for the blood tests came through and on the next Monday Sherlock took Ella down to the local doctor so that they could find out whether or not Abigail had been telling the truth in the letter. They would have the tests done that day then get the results back within the next week. Unfortunately, Sherlock hadn't been able to look after Ella over the previous week as he had hoped to. Instead she had been taken to an orphanage where the women who owned it took care of her.

Holmes had been surprisingly upset to see her go, he had tried to busy himself with solving his love's murder, but all it had done was make her think about her and the child more. He found himself wondering why Abigail hadn't told him about the baby sooner, why hadn't she come to him when she first found out she was having the child? He would have helped her, supported her during that time. If she had only told him... He would have had a family. That's all he'd ever wanted...and he only realised it after the biggest part of it was gone. Now the love of his life was dead and he had a little who, even after all this could be taken away from him.

After spending a week without the child after meeting her, the detective found himself constantly wondering how the baby was doing, he had even begun to miss her and now that he got the chance to see her again he found himself getting excited.

He woke early and got ready to go out, forced to skip breakfast as he had been asked to fast for the blood test. Once he was dressed and ready he left his place at 221B Baker Street. "Good morning Mrs Hudson, I will be back later to have something to eat after I have this blood test." He paused to smile at her on his way out.

"Alright I'll have breakfast on for you. Good luck Mr Holmes, I hope you get the answer you're looking for." She nodded, smiling back at him.

"Thank you Mrs Hudson."

As he left Sherlock chuckled to himself, his landlady really was a lovely woman, he was lucky to have her and if he was Ella's father and he got to take her in then he would only hope that the little girl got to grow up with the elderly woman. She would make a brilliant grandmother for her. Of course he would have to ask Mrs Hudson if she would accept that role, but it seemed as though she was already quite taken with the child.

Walking through the streets he watched as others passed, men would tip their hat to him and women would smile. As a renowned detective he had the respect of most of Britain's citizens, however he had always tried to be humble and he said good morning to the people he passed. Though his mind was more focussed on seeing that little girl again. Not the fog nor the cold nor the bustle of the busy streets on this dreary morning could damped his spirits. No, today he was going to be happy.

When he got to the doctors clinic he went to the receptionist desk and was about to speak when he heard a soft gurgle and his eyes seemed to light up. She was there.

"Excuse me sir?" The receptionist asked looking up at him, her words breaking him out of his momentary lapse of concentration.

"Oh I do apologise, I'm here for my appointment with Dr Edwards." Holmes explained.

"I see, well take a seat and the doctor will be with you shortly." She nodded to where there were a few chairs lined up against the wall.

"Thank you." He smiled to her then went to sit down.

As he sat down he paused to think about exactly what all of this could mean for the future. If the test proved positive then Sherlock had two choices; he could either take Ella in and raise her as his daughter. Or he could leave her in the orphanage. Both choices would have their own set of consequences with potential positive and negative outcomes.

If he chose to adopt the child then he would have someone of his own flesh and blood to look after and nurture, he would be able to teach the little girl all the things he knew and better both their lives. However, taking her under his wing would be a full time job, one that he wouldn't always be around for. If he adopted her then he would have to limit the cases he went on for sometime until he felt that she was ready to be taken care by Mrs Hudson, perhaps with the assistance of a maid. The larger problem was that by adopting her Holmes' enemy became hers, with the most worrisome, of course, being Professor Moriarty. If the professor wanted to use the baby to get to him he would no doubt find a way to do so and Holmes didn't want to put her in danger.

But if he left her in an orphanage then that would have another set of problems. If he left her in the orphanage then who was to say she would ever be adopted? She could be forced to grow up without having a family to love and support her then be thrown out into the world to fend for herself. Or she could be left out on the street if the orphanage ever shut down. Even if she was adopted then she could be forced to move from one home to another or be put back in the orphanage if the family who adopted her couldn't keep her...

Holmes had a lot to think about before he made his choice...

However he wouldn't have too much time to think about it now as a wail from another room caught his attention and the doctor appeared. "Ah Mr Holmes, do come in.." He smiled as Sherlock stood up and walked over, passing him by the doorway and entering his room. Once inside the detective came face to face with the cause of the wailing; Ella.

The nurse was trying to hold her as she squealed and squirmed in her grasp, making the woman uncomfortable. "Dr Edwards, this child is proving to be more than a handful." She said as she struggled to prevent the child from falling to the floor.

"Careful Nurse Pennel, just try to hold her still for a little longer." The doctor advised, making the nurse sigh and nod.

"Yes doctor."

Dr Edwards looked at Holmes and sighed, "We've been trying to calm her down so that we can take the blood but she won't."

"Well I don't have much experience with children, but perhaps I can help." He smiled and went over to take Ella out of the nurse's arms and held her close to his chest. "There there little one, it's alright... It won't hurt much, I promise. Hush now..." He murmured, rocking her a little. The baby started to calm down and looked up at Sherlock, her blue eyes blinking at him as the last of her tears ran down her little cheeks. "There we go... That's it. See? It's alright..."

"Well I never..." The doctor marvelled in surprise as he watched the two. "You definitely have a way with her. I wouldn't be surprised if this test proves you are her father." Holmes just smiled and shrugged, for once he was at a loss for what to say. "What do you want the result to be anyway, Mr Holmes?"

"What I want will have little effect over the actual result so I think it would be better to just get the tests done so then we will have the answer and this whole mess can be solved."

"Perhaps you are right." He nodded.

The test went well after that, Ella got upset again but Sherlock was able to calm her down, proving once more that the little girl was quite taken with the detective and it looked as though he liked her too.

However, Watson still made sure that his friend was painfully aware that there was the chance that Holmes wouldn't get to adopt Ella.

"I say Holmes, I don't know why you're going through with all of this. The little squirt is hardly worth the effort, and besides you might be doing all of this for nothing. If the test is negative then what will you do? Have you spoken to Lestrade? He's trying to find the rest of her family, you know." The doctor pointed out.

"Yes I know.. I haven't received any word that he'd heard from him that he has found any of her family."

"So if he doesn't find them then you're going to do what? Take her in?"

"I just might."

"What does Mrs Hudson think about all of this?"

"I haven't asked her yet, but I believe that she rather likes the idea." He replied with a small smile just as Watson frowned and shook his head.

"Well aren't you going to ask me? Doesn't anyone care about my opinion? Don't I get a say in any of this?" He asked, getting grumpy.

"Alright Watson." Sherlock chuckled softly and raised a brow at his friend. "What do you think about all of this?"

"I think you're crazy, adopting a child, bah!" The older man huffed as he sat in his friend's arm chair, shaking his head he sighed and continued grumbling softly to himself about how silly the whole thing was.

"Dear old Watson." He smirked and shook his head.

Nothing was set in stone, and while part of him hoped that he would be able to adopt her, he would find a way to help her even if he couldn't take her in. All he could really do for now was wait for the tests to come back... It was going to be a long wait.


	4. Chapter 4: The Results

Holmes sat in the waiting room staring at a blank white wall, his brow furrowed in thought. There were only a handful of other patients in there that day, and they would occasionally look over at the detective, but he paid them no mind. He was off in his own little world, imagining what the future might hold for him from this day forward. For today he would find out the results of the tests.

Sherlock Holmes hadn't been this nervous for a long time. His palms were sweating and his heart pounded in his chest, but to most he would still appear cool and calm. He knew how to hide his emotions and wouldn't allow his nervousness to show... He just wanted to know if he was Ella's father or not and the anticipation was putting him on edge.

What if he wasn't her father? What would he do then?

He sighed and closed his eyes, reminding himself that he'd already decided that. He was going to adopt her. Regardless of the outcome of the test he was going to look after her. It was what Abigail would have wanted. So why was he so scared about finding out about the test results? Because he wanted to have a child of his own flesh and blood. That's why. He also wanted the words in Abigail's letter to be true. If he found out that she had lied to him in her very last letter to him, to discover that she had given her life for nothing... He couldn't bare the thought of it. Ella just _had_ to be his little girl.

"Holmes are you alright?" The quiet voice of Watson broke through the haze of his thoughts and the detective looked over at him.

"Yes, old man, I'm fine. I apologise for not saying anything I just got a little lost in thought." He replied.

"That's alright, perfectly understandable with all this." He replied.

Watson was still opposed to his friend adopting the little girl, he didn't want Holmes to have another thing to worry about on top of all the cases that he was going to solve in the future. Not to mention that all the screaming the child had done the first, and last, time she had been in 221B Baker's Street. He didn't want to be subjected to all that noise every time he went to visit, that would be unbearable.

"I know patience is a virtue, but for once I seem to be having problems being patient." Holmes chuckled softly, despite himself.

"I still can't believe you're going through with this." He grumbled.

"Oh come now Watson, is it so hard to believe that I want to take care of the child of the woman who was murdered on my doorstep?"

"Well..." He shrugged and muttered something that Sherlock didn't bother to try and decipher.

"Mr Holmes?"

Any idle chatter that had been present suddenly disappeared as the name was called. One question suddenly appearing on everyone's mind, what was Sherlock Holmes doing at the doctors? Was he sick? He didn't look sick? Although if one really took a moment to notice it, he did seem to be a bit pale... But perhaps that was just his skin tone. If he wasn't sick though, then what would he be doing in a doctors office? It didn't make sense. Holmes, however; ignored them and got up, quickly striding across the room and disappearing into the office.

"Good afternoon Dr Edwards, how are you?" Sherlock asked, smiling as the doctor closed the door with a soft click.

"I'm well thank you Mr Holmes, and how are you today?" He smiled, coming to sit down at his desk.

"I'm very good, thank you."

"That is good to hear, but I'm sure that you are eager to know the results of the test."

"I am indeed, I haven't really stopped thinking about it since the last time I was here." He admitted.

Edwards chuckled and nodded as he pulled a file from a drawer in his desk. "It is natural for you to be apprehensive about it, the results will have major consequences for your life."

"Yes I am fully aware of that, Doctor, now would you mind telling me what the results were?" Holmes was growing impatient as he looked at the file in the other man's hands.

"Of course, of course! I do beg your pardon Mr Holmes." He apologised and quickly opened the file.

"Quite alright." Holmes shook his head. "I apologise for my bluntness."

"Well I can now tell you officially that..." A small smile appeared on his face as his eyes scanned the documents before looking back at the detective, who felt his heart start racing even faster in his chest. His palms began to sweat and his respiration increased, though most probably wouldn't have noticed as he tried to hide his anxiousness as he waited to hear the news. "Ella is your daughter."

For a moment Sherlock Holmes, for perhaps the first time ever, was speechless. She was his!

He was about to speak again when the door to his office opened and a nurse walked in carrying the beautiful baby girl. "She had an appointment here today and the carers wanted her to be here for you when you found out the test results." Edwards explained while the nurse brought Ella over to her father.

Sherlock reached out to take her, and even though he had held her twice before his hands still trembled. Knowing that this little being was part of him somehow made it even made it more nerve-wrecking for him to hold her, it felt right, but he worried that he would somehow break her. It was a silly fear, but one he felt at that moment all the same. "I can't believe it.."

"It _is_ rather hard to believe..." He said, seeming to be floored by the results of the previous tests. "What do you plan to do now, Mr Holmes?" He asked.

"I'm going to adopt my daughter."

-/-/-

 **Well there you have it! Sherlock Holmes has a daughter! So what will happen now? Tune in to read the next chapter and find out! That's all for now, I hope you guys enjoyed reading this.**

 **~ Lexa**


	5. Chapter 5

Unfortunately Sherlock wasn't allowed to bring Ella home to his apartment that day, she still had to stay with the foster carers, but he was over joyed that he was her father. That was the main thing.

Sherlock could have run all the way home if it wasn't improper behaviour for a distinguished detective, not to mention that it was rather warm out for once. It would seem that the day was celebrating the good news with him as he and Watson got into a cab and were taking back to his little flat one 221B Baker Street.

Doctor Watson was happy for his friend, but he still wasn't sure that adopting the little girl was a good idea. There were so many problems that he just knew would come with the arrival of the baby and he wasn't convinced that Holmes would know how to handle them, but it was Sherlock's choice and he wouldn't stand in the way of it. He might say 'I told you so' when the problems occurred though.

When they got inside the little apartment on Baker Street Holmes went straight to find his land lady Mrs Hudson and give her the good news.

She was overjoyed to discover that her friend was indeed the baby's father and that he would be adopting the little girl, of course when he asked her if she would be alright to babysit the child when she got older her immediate answer was yes. She loved the idea of having a child there to bring some life back into the place and she felt that Sherlock needed someone else in his life, some family that he could take care of. Ella provided the perfect chance to have his own flesh and blood family. Though Mrs Hudson had begun to think of Sherlock as a son of sorts over the many years that he'd lived in the apartment and she knew that John and Sherlock were as close to family as they could be without it being by blood.

"This is wonderful news!" She smiled at him. "When will she be coming to live with us? We will need to have the guest room made up into a nursery for her."

"I don't know when she is coming, I still have to formally adopt her and that process could take some time, but you are right, we need to get things ready here for when she does arrive. Would you help me by getting some things for her? I'm not exactly versed in things for infants." He chuckled.

"It would be my pleasure." The woman nodded, a familiar happy gleam in her eye.

"Thank you." The detective would always be grateful to the woman for all he had done.

"You're welcome."

So preparations began to make a nursery for young Miss Holmes, but despite wanting to be involved in some way Sherlock found himself constantly distracted by the mystery of his loves murder. It was natural for him to be grieving of course, but it seemed like every time he closed his eyes he saw her face as she died in his arms. If he wasn't seeing that then he was tortured by dreams of the cries of the baby who had lost her mother, all because of him.

He still didn't know why she had been killed when she came to see him, obviously someone hasn't wanted them to talk, but why? It didn't make sense? Who else knew about her coming to see him? Did someone else know about Ella? His blood ran cold at the thought. Ever since that day when Abigail had been killed he'd pondered the questions for hours in his mind along with dozens of others and it was keeping him up through all hours of the night.

Watson knew of his struggle, he could see it in the man's eyes, but he didn't say anything about it just yet. He wanted to see if Holmes would approach the subject on his own, which of course he wouldn't. He knew there was only one way to solve his problem. Solve Abigail's murder.

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 **Sorry about it being a short chapter but the next one will be longer. Thanks for reading!**

 **~ Lexa**


	6. Chapter 6: Moving In

**Thank you to the people reading this, I really appreciate you taking the time to look at it, and a special thanks to ZabuzasGirl and JessicaRae95! I was overjoyed when I saw your reviews for this story, I really hope you like this update!**

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Finally the time had come and little Ella was being brought to the famous apartment at 221B Baker Street.

Sherlock hadn't had too much trouble with adopting her, they could find no other family that would take her in, which Sherlock found odd, and so no one was opposed him taking her in. Well except Watson, but he didn't complain about it to anyone except his friend, and that was always in the privacy of the flat.

"I don't know if I'll be able to stay around here with such a racket going on all the time." He grumbled, once more trying to convince his friend to change his mind about all this.

Holmes chuckled. "Oh come now, Watson, babies don't cry all the time. Honestly old man, I would have hoped you'd give up on trying to talk me out of this by now."

"I can't help insisting that this is a bad idea."

"Well it's still not going to change my mind."

"But there are so many things that could go wrong, what if Moriarty found out about her? You know that if the papers hear about this they'll spread it around and everyone will know. Then what will you do?"

"We will just have to make sure that the reporters don't hear about this then, won't we?"

Though he knew the dangers he was potentially putting his daughter and himself it, Holmes was set on bringing his little girl into his life and nothing that his colleague could say was going to prevent that from happening. Ella was his baby and he wasn't going to let someone else raise her. This way he could watch over her and protect her from any harm that might befall her. He wouldn't fail her the way that he had failed Abigail. So when he heard someone at the door he smiled and strode out of his room to see who was there.

Outside stood a woman with a baby carriage and as he looked to the man beside her he noted that she had been escorted there by Lestrade.

"Well 'ello Mr Holmes." The Inspector greeted.

Holmes nodded to him. "Hello Lestrade, and Miss..." He trailed off, hoping the young woman would supply her name.

"Rees." She smiled politely.

"Wonderful to meet you Miss Rees, do come in." He stepped aside to allow the two of them in and once they were inside his attention was drawn to the baby carriage as there was a little squeal from within it. "Hello little one." He smiled softly, looking down at Ella.

Kayla smiled at the man as he spoke to his daughter, it was sweet, though she had to admit it was a little strange to see the detective behave so warmly toward a child. It had surprised her even more to hear that that the great Sherlock Holmes had ever had a lover before, since no one had ever talked about it before and it had never been in any of the newspapers.

However Holmes had always been a very private person who thought that his life, romantic or otherwise, didn't need to be splashed about all over the newspapers. He merely believed that it was his duty to solve crimes as he could and that it should be known that the murderers he helped stop where put behind bars, ending their cruelty to others.

The brief silence that had been over the group ended as the landlady walked in. "Oh Inspector, I didn't realise you'd be here today."

"'Ello Mrs Hudson, I just came to make sure that the this young one made it 'ere safe an' sound."

"Well I was just about to make some tea, would you all like one?"

"Yes please Mrs Hudson." Holmes nodded with a gentle smile in her direction.

"Thank you." Miss Rees said quietly.

"I'll be right back then." So the group all went and took a seat in Holmes' office upstairs while the landlady made them each a cup of tea.

Once seated, Sherlock comfortably cradled Ella in his arms and looked at Miss Rees, suspecting that she had something to say. She merely confirmed this when she cleared her throat, seeming to feel awkward about whatever it was she wanted to say.

"Yes Miss Rees?" The detective asked.

"I just wanted to inquire, sir, how much you know about looking after such a child as this one. Now that you've adopted her, she does become your responsibility..."

Sherlock allowed himself a small smile. She didn't have confidence in him, not that he could blame her of course. After all he had no experience with infants and he had no wife to help him. It was natural that she would ask such questions, they did want to make sure that the child had the best life she could.

"I am aware she is now my responsibility and I will do everything in my power to care for her. I have been reading up on the subject and I will also have the help of Mrs Hudson who is very capable with children. I will be taking time off from my cases to ensure that Ella settles in here and so that I may devote my time to taking care of her."

"I see." She nodded, appearing to find that as an acceptable answer. "Do you plan on getting her a nanny in the future?"

"Yes I do." Being a parent was a full time job, particularly during infancy, but as she grew older he would resume his work, when he felt she was ready to be cared for by a nanny while he was busy.

Before too many more questions could be asked, Mrs Hudson returned with a tray of teas for all of them. After the teas were drank and they had further discussed the needs of the child and how those would be met, the Inspector and Miss Rees left. Leaving Mr Holmes to look after young Ella, who would then require him to face one of his most difficult tasks as a parent yet. To change her soiled clothing.


End file.
